Page 75 of Mother-Daughter Murder Night

“Anything you want to tell me, Paul? About Fruitful? Or Ricardo Cruz?”

Paul stopped in front of his motorboat. When he looked up at her, his eyes were cold.

“Lana, I run a kayak rental shop. With a bunch of teenagers. One of whom I just saved. My whole business relies on the slough being safe and open. Why the hell would I do anything to screw that up?”

Chapter Thirty-Four

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” Jack twisted toward Beth from the passenger seat, willing her mother to look at her.

Beth kept driving.

“I promise I’ll never do it again. I was just trying to—I want you to . . .”

Jack twisted her hair around her right fist.

“Mom. Please say something.”

Beth made a slow turn into the front lot of North Monterey County High School, pulling into one of the visitor spots beside the basketball court.

“Jack. I know you made a mistake. And you know just one mistake . . .”

“Can change your life forever,” Jack sighed.

Her mom gave Jack a curt nod. Then she turned to face her. Beth’s hazel eyes were soft and tired, the green flecks peeking through the brown.

“You and me have it pretty good, right?”

Jack nodded.

“Why do you think that is?”

Jack wasn’t sure how to respond.

“It’s because we trust each other,” Beth continued. “You tell me what’s going on, and I respect your right to make your own choices. You can’t promise me you’ll never make a mistake again. You will. Probably even some big ones.”

“So?”

“So what you can promise me is that you’ll follow the rules. Which are changing. Starting now.” Beth looked her daughter in the eye. “No more going out alone on the slough.”

“Forever?” Jack’s voice cracked.

“Forever’s a long time, Jack. Let’s just say for now. Until I say otherwise. At least until they figure out what happened to that young man.”

“What about working at the Kayak Shack?”

“I need to think about it.” Beth reached out and touched her shoulder. “It’s not a punishment, honey. There’s just a lot going on.”

Jack heard the finality in her mother’s voice. Her mind raced through the implications, the doors slamming shut in front of her. No morning paddles in the fog. No paycheck. Which meant no sailboat. She’d been looking for the right moment to talk to her mom about the email she’d gotten back from the guy with the used twenty-two-footer, to see if Beth would consider helping advance her the money to buy it. Now she’d probably never set foot on that boat, let alone call it hers.

Jack squeezed her eyes shut, shoving back the tears she felt forming there. “Can I still help Prima with her investigation?”

“We can help. But, Jack, you have to be smart. No going off alone. Period.”

She swallowed. It all felt heavy and unfair. Except the we. The we was good.

“Do you want to hear what I found?” Jack asked.

“Was there more than just that man?”